


signs worth looking out for

by syazzypanda



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alex and Charlie are Disgustingly In Love, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Recovery, THEY'RE ALL FRIENDS AND LOVE EACH OTHER, honestly like... the power of friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24720475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syazzypanda/pseuds/syazzypanda
Summary: In which Charlie and Alex are disgustingly in love, and Jessica can't help but feel hopeful.Or, the one where Jessica notices some similarities between Alex and a cat.
Relationships: Charlie St. George/Alex Standall, Jessica Davis & Alex Standall, Jessica Davis & Zach Dempsey
Comments: 24
Kudos: 200





	signs worth looking out for

**Author's Note:**

> So... wow... four stories... in four days...
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. It was incredibly fun to write :)

**_Buzz buzz_ **

_**Zach:** Quick question, does anyone think Alex looks like a grumpy cat?_

_**Jessica:** Hmm never thought about it. But now that you mention it…_

_**Alex:** HEY_

_**Ani:** I think it’s cute_

_**Charlie:** The cutest :)_

_**Zach:** Charlie I love you man but your opinion doesn’t count here cause bias_

_**Zach:** Ani’s does though_

_**Alex:** Zach don’t be fucking rude_

_**Zach:** Aww kitty’s got claws_

* * *

i

_4 Signs Your Kitty Actually Loves You_

That was the title at the top of the webpage when Jessica powered up Charlie’s laptop.  He had come up to visit his boyfriend--and since she was his roommate, Jessica by extension--for the weekend and had let her use his computer for work while hers was getting repaired.  In return, Jessica had  gladly  taken the laptop out to work at a nearby coffee shop to let Alex and Charlie… enjoy some alone time.

Why Charlie was looking at this page though, she had no idea. Jessica herself had no interest in the article for two reasons: 1. It was unrealistic that they were going to get a pet while living in the dorm room, and 2. She was more of a dog person anyway.  Still, she gave the page a cursory once over, more so for the adorable pictures of cats and kittens that accompanied the article.

Not one to waste time, Jessica opened a new tab and began her research for her paper due the coming week.  Several hours passed before she finally looked up, noticing that the sky above Berkeley had gone from a clear blue to a soft purple as evening settled over the city.

**_Buzz buzz_ **

_**Charlie:** U wanna grab dinner with us?_

_**Jessica:** Sure. How about sushi?_

_**Charlie:** Sounds great! Alex is still asleep. Will wake him up when you’re back.  
  
_

Jessica returned to the room to find Charlie lying on Alex’s bed, with Alex curled around him fast asleep. The younger boy had one hand free, which he was using to hold his phone as well as wave at her when she came in.

“Aww, look at you two.” Jessica cooed. She reached for her own phone and took a quick picture of the couple. For prosperity. “Thanks for letting me use your laptop. Give me ten minutes to get ready?”

Charlie waved her off, “Take as long as you need.”

Jessica smiled and headed for the bathroom. She moved to close the door, but instead found her eyes wandering back towards the two boys. Charlie was, very  gently, shaking Alex awake. He was murmuring something that Jessica couldn’t quite pick up.  Alex’s eyes were still close even as he stretched against his boyfriend, a full body stretch that loosened his muscles and joints--not unlike a cat waking up. As she watched, Alex finally opened his eyes, blinking  slowly  up at Charlie to clear the sleep from his eyes.

Jessica closed the door, something from that list coming to her mind as she reached for her toothbrush:

**Slow Blinking** _Cats save eye contact for people they know and trust. If that eye contact is coupled with slow blinking then you’ve just received a kitty kiss. _

Hm. Interesting.

* * *

ii

It was nice being at Berkeley.  Jessica sometimes thought it was easier to breathe, away from the trauma and hurt and memories memories memories.  A friend of hers had once commented that she and Alex were “much too young to  be haunted by  so many ghosts”, and it was some of the strongest restraint she had ever seen from Alex when all he did was mutter “Fucking philosophy majors” under his breath.

They had driven back a few times now, and although Jessica had reassured her parents that she was more than capable of making the trip alone, she was  infinitely  grateful that each time Alex was by her side. Home was full of ghosts. Having Alex with her kept them away, for the most part.

Alex had made them stop at a vegan bakery a few blocks from campus before they left.  He munched on a donut as Jessica turned onto the freeway, the buildings and city growing smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror.

“You want anything?” Alex asked through a mouthful of food. “I can feed you."

Jessica kept her eyes on the road, “Thanks, but it’s fine. I’m still full from lunch.”

“Okay, but you gotta take some of these. I can’t let Charlie have everything, he has no self restraint for these things. When I brought him to that bakery the last time he bought almost half of the things on display.  I think  the lady behind the counter wanted to kiss him.”

Jessica laughed, “Wait so these are all supposed to be for him?”

“Oh yeah,” Alex had rolled down the window, and had his eyes closed against the evening light. Jessica changed a quick sideways glance. The light played across his features, throwing shadows under his eyelashes and  softly  highlighting his profile. “I thought it would be a nice surprise. You know, being the romantic one for once?”

Jessica hummed in agreement. Alex settled in for a nap as she recalled another item from the list:

**Gifting** _A kitty that presents you with a bounty deserves to_ _be praised. Despite our domestication, cats still have the hunter instinct, and sharing their prizes with you is a sign of true friendship._

* * *

iii

It was Alex who had suggested the split the cost for a cheap Airbnb for a few days when Tyler, Estela, and Zach had made plans to come up with Charlie to visit them. The gang had hit the town the night before, joking and laughing and dancing in a place where no one knew who they were and maybe, just maybe, they can pretend that all the ghosts of the past were long buried.

That was last night. Jessica woke up the next day with a pounding headache and a growling stomach.  She crept out of bed,  carefully  tucking the blankets back around Estela who rolled over with a sleepy murmur. The hallway outside was qui-

“Charlie, what the fuck--hold still!”

Well, so much for that.

The voice,  recognizably  Alex, aggravated and horrified, was coming from the room where Charlie, Alex, and Tyler had shared the night before.  Ever inquisitive, Jessica poked her head into the room to find Tyler bundled on the bed, eyes bleary,  just  as Charlie made a sound that was close to a screech.

Now, Jessica had thought that she’d seen it all, but she was wrong.  Alex had Charlie by the  hair--literally, his hands  were fisted  into his brown hair--and he was pulling him towards the sink in the bathroom. The noise Charlie was making was almost mutinous.

“It’s either this or I’m going to have to shave your head clean.”

Bewilderment, and the pounding headache, rooted Jessica to the spot in silence. That was when Alex noticed her, “Jess, can you please tell Mr Wet Cement here to be sensible?”

A set of heavy footsteps heralded Zach’s arrival from the living room, drawn to the commotion as well. He stood behind Jessica, blinking  blearily, “What the fuck is going on?"

In response, Alex removed his hands from Charlie’s hair and pushed him towards the sink, “Look at him!”

And that was what they did.  Now that Alex had released him, Jessica could see where Charlie’s brown hair  was clumped  in  weirdly  shaped knots atop his head. Alex wasn’t exaggerating when he said ‘Wet Cement’; he looked like he had substituted it for shampoo. “Dude, what the hell did you do?”

“Hair gel,” Charlie mumbled as Alex guided his head towards the sink. “I fell asleep and forgot to wash it off last night.”

“The price of beauty,” Alex grumbled, running water through his boyfriend’s hair and brushing out the tangles. It might have been the hangover, but for a moment Jessica and Zach stood by the door watching in fascination. Alex was good at what he was doing.  His fingers were deft but sure, clearing Charlie’s hair of the product before untangling it  systematically.

“Can you wash my hair next?” Zach asked.

“Sorry, boyfriend privileges.”  Charlie replied, turning his face  slightly  towards the door with a slight grin before Alex pushed his face down once more.

Jessica looped an arm around Zach’s elbow and pulled him away, intent on getting breakfast. Zach chuckled, "God, that was some marriage sitcom material."

If only she could get that silly list out of her mind…

**Grooming** _One of the most obvious signs of trust you have with your furry companion._

* * *

iv

It came to no surprise to anyone that Charlie’s love language was very physical.  The younger boy would take any opportunity to touch his boyfriend, whether it was with a hand on the small of his back when they were out in a crowd or small touches whenever they were next to each other. What surprised Jessica was how  quickly  Alex adapted to it.

The football team had won another match, and although Jessica had _definitely_ outgrown high school parties she couldn’t say no when Alex had begged her to come along.  So there she was, sipping from a cup by the side of Zach’s pool, watching as the Liberty football team shoved their coach into the water with a roaring cheer.

Jessica shook her head, looking around when she noticed that Charlie wasn’t among the crowd that had pushed Zach into the pool--who were all now also ripping off their shirts and jumping in alongside him.  She stepped back into the house through the sliding door, finding Charlie, and Alex by extension, standing in the kitchen.

Well, Charlie was standing. Alex was perched on the marble kitchen counter, feet hovering a few inches above the ground. His knees were parted just wide enough for Charlie to stand between them, his hands resting on Alex’s thighs as they talked. Charlie must have said something funny judging by Alex’s reaction; his grin was as bright as the lights above them, and he pressed his forehead against Charlie’s as he learned forwards with a laugh.

Something heavy and wet collided into her side then, and Jessica looked up, alarmed, to see that it was Zach. “Come on Jess, not having fun?”

Jessica looked up at Zach. Her friend’s eyes were bright, cheeks flushed with life and joy. It wasn’t a lie when she answered: “Yeah, I am.”

Zach let out a whoop, and it was  in between  her own laughter as she followed Zach out to the pool once more that Jessica remembered:

**Head Butting** _To be on the receiving end of what_ _is known in the cat world as a ‘head butting’ is a very special privilege indeed. During this exchange your cat deposits pheromones that represent their feelings of trust and safety they have with you. _

**Author's Note:**

> Food for thought if you've read this far, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a Charlie/Alex discord/groupchat? Or if anyone knows if one already exists? Just thought it would be fun :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! I appreciate every kudos and comment.


End file.
